Protector for golf clubs



. Nov. 8,1927.

t c. W. HAMEL ET AL `PROTECTOR FOR GOLF CLUBS Filed Feb.l'7, 1926 lPatented Nov. '8, 1927.

riso .STATES L Para;

j y 1,648,175A

CHARLES WUHAMEL AND LOUIS J. HAMEL, or sr.` ilou1s, MrssoURI.

FROTECTOR FOR GOLF CLUBS.

Application 1cd1Fehruary'17,1192. `Serial No. $853.

lQur invention :relates generally to .golf clubs and more particularly to ,protectors for same.

-v ,Each l.gol-f club .is provided'with fa grip which -isusually formed by'winding a fstrip of leather Iorysinilar lmaterial Aon the 'enlarged .end Aof the club .to provide .a .more firm grip. `The .end of the leather strip `is generally tacked to the `stick and -is usually protected by a layer lof twine, which is wound on the stick and Aextends a .considerable distance beyond the end of the leather covering.V A similar coil of twine is used to protect the socket portion of the head and reinforce the same wherel the end of the shaft-joins `the head of the club.

In replacing the club in the bag in which it is usually carried, this winding of twine Vstrikes the edge of the bag and is subjected to constant wear and tear, so that in a short period oit' time the twine is broken or loosened, exposing the end of the leather cover, which in turn is subjected to constant rubbing' against the edge of the bag, tearing the same or loosening it from the club.

It is the object of the present invention to provide a` protector in the form of a resilient member which can be readily placed on the club over the end of the lea-ther covering and over the socket portion of the head thereby protect-ing the edges thereof and reinforcing the same.l

Other objects of our invention are to form a tubular member adapted to be placed over the annular edge of the leather covering and secured into position thereon, said tubular member having tapering ends so as to eliminate projecting edges striking against the edge of the bag.

Additional objects of our invention are to provide an auxiliary covering for the end of the shaft which ycovering is simple and inexpensive to make and can be readily replaced when worn out or broken.

With these and other objectsin view our invention consists in certain novel features hereinafter more fully described as shown in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view otl a golf club equipped with our protectors.

Figure 2 is a longitudinal cross section.

through a portion of the handle of the club. Figure 3 is a vertical cross section taken on line 3-3 of Figure 2.

Figure L is a longitudinal cross section showing a modified form of a protector.

v said handle.

.Figure f5 .is ia :longitudinal cross .section v through another `modified lform of V,the .pro y tecton Figure 16 shows yanother modified form-jot .the protector.

Figure '7 shows aftool' designedk tobepused in placing a protector -over the handle of theV club. Y .Rc'terningfby numerals `to the accompanyv ing f drawiugs whichfreprcsent a .golf 'club comprising a lshaft y11, ,the lower end4 Zot"` which is seated vin a socket'formed in shank .12 of iahead :13. The opposite end lofA shaft-v yl0 is lenlarged and Vtapers Atowardsjshafft- 11 .to forni a handle 11i which is 4provided with a .stripot' ,lea-ther or ,rubber ,covering YT15 which forms a suitable covering for-afore- This covering extends a suitV able distance'from the Aend of the club, and the end of the leather strip is usually coy-v ered by' a twine 16 tightly wound on the lshaft and on said leather strip 15 as shown in Figure 2.

A protector 17 of tubular shape and having tapering ends 18 is-placed over the twine covering vand is offsuiiicient lengthfto enclose a Suitable portion ofsshaft 11 and the leather covering 15. This protector Amay be'secured in lposition in anysuitable manner and protectsthe terminal edges of said leather covering. The tapered ends 18 minimize the edge'contactpwith theV bag when the club is removed from or re- Y placed in the bag. A protector 19 of similarl shape is placed over the shank 12 and the 90 lower portion of shat't 11. ProtectorslS and 19 not only serve to protect the edges of covering 15 and shank 12, respectively.I against injury, but alsoy reinforce the club at these points. In the form shown in Figures -2 and 3 the protector is placed on shaft, 11 over the lower end thereoipthe latter .is1 then secured in the socket of shank 12. The protector is preferably formed of resilient material such as'rubber so that when the protector is moved in position it will be heldl therein by its own tension. In the form shown in Figure 4 protector 20 is formed of resilient material and is provided with an internal screw thread 21 which facilitates the positioning of the protector on the club. In` the form shown in Figure 5 the protector 22 is formed of aV strip of metal 23, coiled in tubular form and is resilient so'that said protector may be expanded to increase` the diameter thereor when placing the same ftector 24 which is formed by Winding'astrip of. rubber in position on the club and then vulcaniziiig said strip so as to permanently secure the protector in position.'V

V.In all oi the cases the ends or angular edges of the `protectors are tapered so that the peripheral surfaces of the protectors merge with the surface of the club, thereby eliminating all projecting `abrupt surfaces. -Eacli protector can be distinctively marked or colored so as to distinguish the particular club from .other clubs or to indicate owner#` ship of such 'club andr also to enable the player to better observe the angleof the backward and forward :swing of the club in the course of practice.

there the protector is to be placed inpo- 3 sition over' the handle., or enlarged end let, suitable means oi tool, such as 25 shown in member. Y

Figure 7 may heused to expand the tubular This toolfcomprises handles 26 and jaws 2" the latter being reierably disposed at right angles to handles and tubular in lcross section tapering to one end. The protector isy slipped over the javvs,'Wl 'iicli Vare Vthen expanded. to enlarge thevinternal diam- Vcter of said protector in order toV permit the latter to berslipped over theV handle. When the protector is passed over the handley the ytool is v4Withdrawn andy protector is then which said shaft is associated, said tubular 4 member being .provided with an internal v screwl threadiior facilitating the positioning ridtubular member onlsaid club, said member 'being' provided with taperoi tabular Vi g ends whereby the latter merge with the adjoining surfaces.

in testimony whereof We vhereunto aii'ixV our signatures tliislOth day or February,

l v CHAR-LES lV. HAMEL.

LOUIS J. HAMEL 

